Revitalizing Avalon

Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times

A worker pauses at the construction site of the new Catalina Island Museum. It will feature 11,000 square feet of floor space, with a gallery devoted to traveling art exhibits that museum and community leaders hope will be strong enough to entice visitors from the mainland.

A worker pauses at the construction site of the new Catalina Island Museum. It will feature 11,000 square feet of floor space, with a gallery devoted to traveling art exhibits that museum and community leaders hope will be strong enough to entice visitors from the mainland. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Luis Estrada works on a wall at the new Catalina Island Museum. "This institution is going to change Avalon forever," museum Executive Director Michael De Marshe said, raising his voice to be heard over the clamor of hammers and saws.

Luis Estrada works on a wall at the new Catalina Island Museum. "This institution is going to change Avalon forever," museum Executive Director Michael De Marshe said, raising his voice to be heard over the clamor of hammers and saws. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Trying to restore its luster as a tourist destination, Avalon on Santa Catalina Island is undergoing its most ambitious overhaul since chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. built the cozy harbor town's signature feature in 1929: Avalon Casino. More than half a dozen projects are underway or planned in the 2-square-mile community, including a museum, hotel, spa, chapel and wine-tasting room. "Catalina is becoming a new old place," said Geoffrey Rusack, whose wife, Alison Wrigley Rusack, is a great-granddaughter of Wrigley Jr.